Endings and Beginnings
by AbaraiSuki
Summary: The reality of war hits the young shinobi hard and forces them to face their feelings now, before their time runs out. M for mild gore, explicit language and romancing.
1. War

I'd like to offer a thousand thanks to Japboix1 for all of his help. He did an amazing job helping me fix this chapter and letting me bounce ideas off of him for where to go with this next. Without his help this never would have gotten posted.

War

War had always been an inevitable abstraction to the young shinobi of konoha. They knew it was more than a possibility, knew that there would be blood and that people would die. But having that knowledge in no way prepared them for the real thing. But here was the real thing, in all of its horror, at their doorstep.

Time had stopped working normally. It sped up and slowed down as comrades were dismembered, impaled and exploded. It slowed as blood squirted into the air sped up when it fell to the ground in a gruesome red rain. It warped as the blood in their ears pounded so hard they could barely hear anything else- until they realized it wasn't time that had frozen, it was their own bodies. They had to move, had to fight to live. It had to be close to being over, right? Just over.

At this point, it was beyond winning or losing. None of the young shinobi knew how they stood overall. All they knew was people they had grown up knowing, grown up dreaming about when they could use these skills, were suddenly and violently blinked out of existence. Winning. Could anyone ever really win a war if this is the price they had to pay? No. You can't win, you can only finish it.

In the trees they could hear debris ricocheting off of leaves and landing with a sickening thud onto the now muddy ground. Their beautiful forest surrounding konoha, nearly all the way to the suna border, was decimated. Tree trunks were unusually dark with still warm blood spatter and the once grassy ground was littered with broken or abandoned equipment and flesh. Sakura would have vomited but there was nothing left in her stomach.

She found herself alone in the horrors surrounding her. She was running towards her teammate who was fighting in a small clearing up ahead. At the start of all of this she had been torn between the duties of being a medic nin and the desire to fight to protect her friends _so_ that she didn't need to heal anyone. She originally settled on the mindset to hang back and only heal others, but far too many chakra signals were blinking out. What was the point in being able to heal if there was no one left _to_ heal? She was going to fight.

She needed to protect one person in particular. A blonde haired blue eyed shinobi of great strength and greater heart. She had an unshakeable fear of him dying without her being able to tell him something important. It had taken her weeks to get up the nerve to tell him. And it had taken her much longer than that to decide that what she was feeling was acceptable and real. She had tried to tell him a few times since then, but he misunderstood why she was acting serious and she lost her nerve. But now, with the reality of death in front of her, it couldn't wait.

She approached the clearing at full speed only to stop short and take a moment to see how best to surprise the attacker. In front of her she saw an unknown enemy ninja with a sadistic sense of humor, playing with Naruto and to her disbelief, Sasuke. She would find out later that Sasuke had entered this battle with intent to not let anyone else kill Naruto. Sasuke was determined to do that himself. So for the moment, he was fighting Naruto's enemy. Sakura wrinkled her nose in disgust. How had she ever liked this guy?

Their attacker knew his opponents were losing strength and was toying with them. Sakura let out a small involuntary gasp as she saw the state they were in and took in the situation. If they were having this much trouble, she wasn't sure how much good she could be. Sasuke, who was more observant than Naruto, looked up to see the source of the small noise. Their assailant jumped at the chance and stabbed him through the heart. Before the blade was pulled from his body he gave Sakura a small smile and mouthed "I'm sorry" to her. Blood oozed its way from his mouth as he finished the word. Sakura saw the light fade from his eyes. He was gone.

What was he sorry for? For dying? For leaving? For coming back? For hurting her? For wanting to kill everyone? Or was it something sicker, like being sorry he wasn't the one to kill Naruto? She would never know.

Another chakra signal blinked out in front of her. Another valuable life lost. This time it was a life that had once meant so much to her, a life that she was partially responsible for losing. She should have known better than to gasp. Naruto began to glow with rage as Sakura burst through the trees, fist nearly sparking with the chakra she had built up. She could tell Naruto how she felt once this bastard went down.

Naruto had seen Sasuke look up and on instinct had looked up to see what had caught his attention. The moment he did, he heard the sick sound of something being thrust into flesh. He could feel himself not breathing right. He knew it was over, knew his precious Sakura had just witnessed something that would never leave her. Above all else, all he had wanted was to protect her. Now it seemed, he had failed. He threw caution to the wind and prepared to avenge Sasuke. His fallen comrade. His brother.

With a single enemy still standing, the war was basically over. Madara had been masterfully dealt with by an elite alliance of Anbu who were selected solely for that purpose. She wasn't sure what had happened to Sasuke, but she had felt him pass on. Shizune stood admiring her fellow shinobi as she took a small break before running off towards the final battle. There were 2 familiar chakra signals coming from that its' direction. It was Naruto and Sakura's battle. A battle that she was certain would be over soon and their tired but smiling faces would join the rest of the alive but wounded crowd. She began to walk over to where they were, in no particular hurry since Naruto wouldn't want help anyway. Then she felt it. Her stomach sank and she shot off at full blast. Their chakra was fading. How could this be?

When she arrived on scene the enemy was poised to slit Sakura's throat, forcing an immobile Naruto to watch. Without hesitation Shizune materialized behind him and aimed to stab him through his heart from behind. The attacker had been worn down first by Naruto alone, then by Naruto and Sasuke and finally by Naruto and Sakura who were crazed by the loss of their "friend". He knew that he would lose this fight. The attacker dropped his weapon, did a forward flip over the two injured ninja and disappeared into the forest. Shizune cursed her luck, he would have to be dealt with. He was too strong. She sheathed her weapon and prepared to treat two new patients. What she saw when she looked down made her heart freeze.

Naruto lay on the ground with a discarded katana running straight through him. It had belonged to the man who lay dead in the underbrush, several yards from where they fought. It looked like Naruto had been thrown backwards by an attack and forced on to it. Sakura began slowly dragging herself towards him, holding a hand over her abdomen. From behind her gloved hand Shizune saw what looked like intestines nearly falling out, being held in solely by her hand. _I can't help them._ Shizune thought to herself in a panic. Even if she was fully rested these injuries were too serious for her to treat alone in the middle of the forest. They were going to die. She took a step towards them, hand outreached with tears forming in her eyes.

"Sakura. Don't move." She said softly. "Don't make it worse... Stop moving… please… STOP!" she shouted the last word, tears starting to flow.

"Shizune" Sakura breathed, the word catching as she gasped in pain.

"Sakura don't…" she was cut off by the dying medic nin.

"We both know…that there's no way…that I'll live." She said as she finally was within arms reach of Naruto. His breathing was labored but he was wide eyed and watching Sakura's every move.

"And…all I want…is to be able…to be near Naruto…in the end."

"Sa…ku..ra…chan…" Naruto whispered, being unable to raise his voice further.

She finally reached him. She lay down, resting her head on his shoulder and put the arm that wasn't holding her insides inside, around him, carefully not touching the sword that would kill him in the end.

Shizune stared at them. Lost for words. Frozen in the intimacy of their last moments on this earth.

"I'm gonna die?" Naruto asked, it wasn't exactly a question, but there was a hint of hope in his voice.

"Me too." She whispered back. The tears streaming down both of their faces were washing away the dirt and grime of war. There were a few moments of silence as they stared into each other eyes. Shizune wondered what exactly they saw.

"Hey, Naruto" Sakura said as she twitched in pain, coughing up blood. It splattered on his neck.

"Yeah?" he said, unable to move most of his body now. The world was getting gray and fuzzy at the edges. He knew that if he lost consciousness, he would never regain it. He wanted to stay, until Sakura had left. There was no point in staying without her.

"I need…to tell you…something." She winced and coughed, which made her wince more. It was a vicious cycle and Shizune could see her time was running short.

"I know." He replied.

"No." she normally would have gotten angry with him for finishing her sentence, but there was no anger left in her body. There was barely anything left in her body. She could feel the need to sleep coming over her. It was so strong. But she had to tell him this, if only just this once.

"I love you."

Shizune's tears escalated. Naruto told her that he loved her too. There was a moment of silence as Sakura's breath caught and she struggled to say something.

"Don't Sakura. Please don't!" Shizune begged taking a step forward.

"Shizune." Every word was harder. Every thought was slippery, like they would disappear if she didn't concentrate very hard on them. But she was so tired. This was important though! She had to stay just long enough to prove to him how serious she was.

"What?" Shizune hadn't mean to sound angry, Shizune would never forgive herself for sounding that way. In fact, she would have nightmares for years to come about these few moments.

"Marry us" Sakura said gripping Naruto's hand. He knew it was being held from the pressure, but he couldn't really feel it. After all of this time he was finally getting to hold her hand and he couldn't feel it. His eyes would have widened. His face would have grinned, but all he could do was breath. And that was becoming so hard. Both of their eyelids were drooping. This was it.

"What! At a time like this?" Shizune was panicking. How could this happen, to these two!

"There…is…no more time…" Sakura said, "Unless…Naruto…objects?" She said, forcing an eyelid open to see the gleam in his eyes. He was fading fast though, and Shizune wasn't sure if he had the strength to reply.

"Naruto?".

"Yes." One word was hard enough.

"Is this ok with you?" Shizune asked, although she knew the answer.

"Already…said…" his voice faded away. Shizune was crying so hard she was wondering when she would run out of tears.

"Sakura, do you take Naruto to be your husband from now until…

"Say al…ways" Sakura interjected, trying desperately to hold on.

"…forever" it was close enough, she doubted Sakura had the energy to get angry. Shizune couldn't believe what was happening in front of her.

"I…do" she said, attempting to nuzzle Naruto's neck since she couldn't feel her hand to squeeze his anymore.

"Naruto do you…"

"believe….it…" he said, with a half smile, presumably he couldn't control the side of his body that had taken the hit.

This was the part that was going to kill her to watch. This was the part that would have Shizune waking up sweating in the night.

"You can kiss…" she began to say it but was shocked into silence as Sakura shakily pulled herself up on her elbow and kissed Naruto. Naruto's kiss back was the last of his strength and when they pulled apart the light in his eyes started to disappear. He looked happier in death than Shizune had ever remembered him being in life. _He got his girl_ she thought as the gravity of the situation started to really hit her. They had been in love all this time? It took death for Sakura to realize it? It took war and blood and spilled guts for Sakura to open her heart up? _Fuck,_ was all she could think as she watched the final act unfold.

Sakura leaned back from the kiss slowly. As she was moving, her body jerked and it looked like she hiccupped. Shizune saw her lips halfway parted encased in a bloody spit bubble. The look in her eyes was tortuous. When the bubble popped, Sakura's life ended. She collapsed onto her husband of all of 60 seconds.

Their chakra had disappeared. Shizune fell to the ground. Noticing now, the dead Uchiha off in the corner of the clearing. Shizune weeped, her heart pounding so fast it felt like it might stop out of sympathy. She promised herself that they would receive the proper paperwork to make this official so they could be buried together. She would do it as soon as she could move from this spot.

She screamed and punched the muddy ground as Kakashi arrived. He had taken off as fast as he could after he felt their deaths. He hadn't been far. He was about to put his hand on Shizune's shoulder, to offer what little comfort he could, when he felt it. Familiar chakra shot through the air like thunder. It was so strong it hit him in the chest and he was knocked back a few feet. Shizune looked up, tears momentarily stalled in her confusion. Before their eyes was a massive orange glow. The mass had enveloped both Naruto and Sakura. They were being raised off of the ground by its force. Wounds were closing, intestines rewinding themselves and nestling back in their place. The glassy dead gleam in their eyes was gone, but there was no light in their eyes.

"The Kyuubi?" Shizune asked, not expecting a response. But a response she got in a thunderous voice.

"If he dies, I die. And I'm not going anywhere." It _was_ the kyuubi.

"But why heal Sakura?" Kakashi asked, afraid of the implications and afraid to waste time with stupid questions with this tailed beast.

"Simple, if she dies, he'd give up and then we'd both die."

"Then why not heal them earlier!" Shizune said as she jumped to her feet, furious that they had gone through that for nothing.

"Because it was _such_ a touching scene." The voice responded with a chuckle.

"You sick bastard" Shizune said as Kakashi put a hand on her arm, warning her from approaching the monster. It _was_ healing Naruto and Sakura after all.

"_How_ are you healing her?" Kakashi asked, voice emotionless.

"Listen to you, the girl, the girl! Why do you care?"

"Guess it doesn't really matter…"Kakashi said in a hushed voice as he pulled Shizune further from the clearing. Afraid to get too near the glowing mass, afraid of what the chakra could do to someone who wasn't Naruto.

"Will this really work?" Shizune was almost afraid to ask.

"All I can do is heal their bodies." The Kyuubi replied. "They have to come back on their own." The horrible beast chuckled.

Kakashi frowned. There was something off about that logic. Why heal them this late in the game if there was a chance it wouldn't work? Just as Kakashi was formulating an intelligent way to question the Kyuubi, the fox broke the silence.

"Until next time, mortals!" the voice said with unreasonable humor. The glow disappeared abruptly.

From across the forest a crying Ino had been leaning on an equally upset Shikamaru. They had felt their friends die. All of this had reminded them of Asuma's death and they were losing their grip. It hurt too much. Shinobi training didn't really prepare you for this shit. This was it; they were going to quit being shinobi tonight. No more of this.

Back in the clearing lay two totally unharmed bodies. Shizune and Kakashi took a cautious step forward, neither of them hearing a heartbeat nor feeling their chakra. It wasn't until they were both kneeling down, ears getting closer to their chests, that the heartbeats kicked in. _Bastard did that on purpose_ Kakashi thought without real malice, since they were alive again because of the sadistic fox. While their bodies certainly were alive, they weren't awake yet.

From across the forest Ino and Shikamaru's tears were halted as they felt their friends' chakra blast back into existence. They could almost feel their heart beats in the chakra, that's how strongly it was pulsing. They started to run. Confused and daring to be hopeful but afraid of what they might find.

A/N: Please tell me what you thought!


	2. Unconscious

It had been a week to the day when Ino and Shikamaru found themselves sitting in the hospital room waiting, again. Naruto and Sakura had been brought back to the hospital within an hour of their "demise". They were closely checked and given a clean bill of health…barring the fact that neither had woken up yet. They were hooked up to IV's and feeding tubes, so that they wouldn't waste away and die in the time it took them to awaken. Some were starting to have their doubts that they would ever wake up. Others were convinced that all they needed was time. The pair in the room was part of the latter group.

They had come every day and waited for a sign of their return. Tsunade had forbidden them from submitting any documents until they had got a chance to speak with Naruto and Sakura. She had done it so they would have time to think it over…to decide if they really wanted to quit being shinobi. It wasn't an uncommon thought, all of the rookie nine who were still conscious had had it cross their mind sometime recently. Even team Guy, the ever optimistic and rearing to go team, had balked. So far, no one had quit, but Tsunade had given them all the same order. Take some time off, think, visit your friends, but don't make any life changing decisions.

The reasoning was to not make a big decision while you were still processing something like the horrors that they had seen. Shikamaru wondered briefly if Sakura and Naruto would regret their life changing decision once they woke up. They had gotten married in the thick of war, how much more life changing a decision could you make? But, it was Naruto and Sakura, and so far as the story went according to Shizune, it was Sakura's idea…not Naruto's. That had to mean something in itself, didn't it?

On the opposite side of the newly weds room was a table that was slowly disappearing under a massive pile of gifts. They were all wedding gifts. Shikamaru thought it was sort of gruesome. What if they never woke up? Would these gifts be moved to litter their graves? But he tried not to think of them dying permanently, not until they were old anyway. With their forces depleted by war Konoha needed two as strong as the couple lying in bed. Shikamaru needed his friends back and everyone needed Naruto's smiling face, his antics and Sakura's constant attempts at keeping him in line. It brought smiles to the people's faces. Everyone needed to smile now.

Konoha itself had taken virtually no damage in the war as a function of their proactive attack in the forest. But the forest needed cleaning up; no one wanted to go for a stroll and stumble upon rotting flesh. No one wanted to accidentally come upon a loved one with an eyeball being pulled out by a crow. The scars of the people of Konoha ran deep enough without those sights being burned into their memories.

The remaining troops who were willing and able to move with the addition of some very brave commoners were the clean up team. It was slow going because of the sheer amount of work to be done and because it was emotionally taxing. What do you tell your wife you did today when the answer is 'I washed dried blood off of tree trunks and collected body parts in a wheel barrel'? How can you look your child in the face after sorting through body parts all day, trying to objectively decide what belonged to whom and tell him that the world is a good place? The newcomers to war were realizing that the horrors of war last much longer than the battle itself. So much longer.

There were several piles of remains. Those of Konoha lineage were to be given a mass grave if they were unidentifiable or in pieces, and the rest were to be buried as the surviving families desired. There was going to be a town wide funeral service once everyone was…collected. Those not of Konoha were put into different piles based on where they were from…if it was possible to tell. In order to start repairing relations Konoha had decided to return the dead to their homes, as best as they could anyway, as a sign of respect. Although some wondered how respectful it was to turn over a finger here, a part of a leg there and pretend that it was doing someone a favor.

Ino and Shikamaru were playing their favorite game in the hospital room, the room that had become like a second home to them. "Guess the present" was the game. It was about as light hearted as they could get and they guessed more and more inappropriate gifts to make each other laugh. It wasn't very deep laughter, but it stopped the tears for a while. The tears came when they were alone. In a pact that they made, without ever having said a word, they never left each other's side. They slept curled up in two separate little balls facing each other in alternating locations. Back and forth between the Nara's and the Yamanaka's. Their parents were keeping their distance for the most part. This wasn't something anyone could talk you out of. This was something they needed each other for. They were lucky to not be alone.

Evening fell and the nurses informed them it was time to leave for the night. It was a night at the Nara's tonight. They would spend it in the same room Shikamaru did after Asuma died. Eyebrows had begun to rise since the two of them were never alone; they even slept in the same room together. But, neither had a look on their face of being in love and neither gave anyone the opportunity to ask. How had Sakura been able to even _think_ of love during war? Is love so selfless that in your final moments on earth, all you can think about is the one you care about with no feelings for the pain you find yourself in? Shikamaru found it hard to believe, but Sakura had always been a pain, so he might never understand her decision.

Back in the hospital room, not long after the nurses had changed IV fluids two eyelids fluttered. Naruto awoke to a dark room sore, hungry, confused and scared. What had happened? Hadn't he been sure he was dying? Where was Sakura? Had she really not only confessed… but also married him? He would have bolted up in his bed to look around for answers but he found himself impaled by IV's and tubes. He lay still for a moment, trying to make sense of his memories when he noticed a small noise that sounded very much like breathing. He turned his head slowly, not knowing what he expected to find. In the bed to his left was an unconscious Sakura. She was hooked up the same way he was. In a moment of panic he did a quick sweep and decided that aside from her eyes being closed, she looked perfectly fine.

He called her name quietly to see if she was just resting and he got no reaction. He figured he would just lie there for a while; trying to figure some things out until either Sakura woke up or someone came to visit. It was as he was readjusting himself around the tubes when he noticed a dark mass on the other side of the room. He squinted and strained and decided he had no idea what he was looking at. But it was going to drive him nuts until he knew. Something so simple as identifying an object was a far more appealing task than remembering what he had seen. And felt. But that single thought forced the memories to the surface and the memories all came flooding back at him.

The feel of flying backwards through the air. The sharp pain and agony of landing on something that went straight through him. What was it again…a sword? And then the memory of Sakura's guts being spilled. The heart wrenching pain of watching the one you love go through that. Of seeing her holding her intestines in with her hand, still determined to not give up. Of that sick bastard poised to slit her throat with him totally unable to stop it, stuck to the ground helpless. Of the look on Shizune's face. The realization he was going to die. The memory of the confusion and the joy of hearing that Sakura had loved him. The ecstasy of her asking to be his wife. The difficulty of staying awake. Their first kiss. The blackness. The burning. Then, nothing.

He felt the tears flowing down his face. All of that pain and suffering, all of the beauty and horror of the situation hit him in the chest like lightening. He didn't know how he was alive. But he knew that he had been given a chance to be with Sakura. The thought that she could have been faking it or less than serious had never crossed his mind since one does not spend their last moments on earth lying for someone else's benefit.

He found himself really crying for the first time in longer than he could remember. Sasuke's ultimate and final betrayal ended in his death. Naruto had failed him. Sakura's torture, pain and death had also been his failure. Could he protect no one? He found himself suddenly exhausted. Life, death, love, pain, failure, death again. All of these thoughts swirled in his head until he found himself drifting off to sleep again. He would soak his pillow clean through by the time he fully awoke in the morning. And he would have an ear cocked in Sakura's direction in case she so much as missed a single heartbeat or breathed in the slightest different way. Tonight Naruto Uzumaki cried himself to sleep for the first time since he was a little boy.

Morning came around just like it did everyday. But today was different for Naruto. He was awake again with a whole new life ahead of him. A life hopefully full of the love he had always wanted. He noted, with a degree of pleasure, that the strange pile that he had tried so hard to make out was a pile of presents. _Wedding presents_ he thought with satisfaction mixed with despair: Sakura was still out cold.

When the morning nurses came in they found him sitting up in bed staring out the window watching the sunrise and the birds going about their business. The one nurse screamed and ran off down the hall to get somebody while the other nurse wiped tears from her eyes. They had been assigned to Naruto and Sakura since they were admitted and had been losing faith in their survival as more than just empty bodies. After he assured her that he was fine and insisted the tubes be removed so he could have real food, the nurse happily asked what Sakura would like. Naruto's face darkened and he looked away from the kind nurse, who noticed then that it had really been too quiet to have both of them conscious.


	3. The Present

*As always, a thousand thanks to Japboix1 for all the help, from editing to answering my thousands of questions and dealing with my inability to shut up. And as a reminder to the readers, my normal writing style is fluffy so although this started out dark, it will not end that way. Consider yourselves warned.

The Present

The joy of Naruto being awake was short lived. While he remained conscious and in what appeared to be perfect health, Sakura's situation had changed. In front of happy visitors including Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru and Kiba, Sakura had awakened. However, she had awakened screaming and writhing in agony. Her back was arched from the pain; her cries ran through Naruto with more torture than the sword that had truly run him through. So while her condition had improved technically since she was once again conscious, she was in so much pain that calling her condition improved would be an injustice.

~~~A few days ago~~~

The morning that Naruto was found awake brought lots of tears. Tears of joy and relief mostly. Ino and Shikamaru had walked into the room quiet and sullen, not expecting any change and visiting out of a sense of habit and duty rather than expectation. Seeing Naruto awake had brought a real smile to both of their faces for the first time in what felt like eternity. Not long after the shock and joy of his changed condition had subsided Ino started crying. She was crying so hard that Shikamaru had to put his arm around her to keep her standing. Naruto, who was highly confused and genuinely concerned for her had tried to get out of bed to console her. This made her cry even harder and Shikamaru had threatened him with bodily harm if he made Ino any worse. Seeing Shikamaru protect Ino made Naruto's confusion turn into a shit-eating grin, which won him a sarcastic comment from Ino and the end of her tears. From then on Shikamaru and Ino were always within touching distance of one another and as the days passed Naruto noticed they touched more and more often. He would have been happier about this were Sakura in better condition.

After spending some time talking together happily, darker topics had bubbled to the surface. Naruto had listened to their experiences in the war and the aftermath. The forest was once again clean and the funeral date was set. He heard how difficult this had been emotionally on his two visitors. He had never considered not being a ninja; it wasn't an option for him. But he could see the confusion in their eyes and he could see the toll it was taking on them. So he told them exactly what they needed to hear without realizing it. He told them that there would always be people worth protecting and people to protect them from. But he also told them that there would always be good, decent people to help end wars who would need to take on unreasonable burdens to protect those they loved. He also mentioned, more as an afterthought, that whatever they decided to do would not change what they had shared and that he was sure that no one would think any less of them. It was the final comment that they had needed to hear. Naruto knew that with time they would decide to remain ninja once they realized it wasn't a weakness to feel the way they were. It was a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable situation.

~~~Yesterday~~~

Hinata and Kiba had come to visit Naruto again. They had brought with them some of Naruto's favorite ramen, a change of clothes and a new card game they had learned from some of their older comrades. The situation had seemingly little effect on Kiba and Hinata. They were laughing and joking and Hinata even seemed to be more confident than normal. Hinata had sustained a compound fracture during the war and Kiba had been with her when it happened. With her bone sticking out of her forearm Kiba had distracted her with jokes and a supporting hand while he continued to make her laugh while the medic nins did their jobs. On top of having been stationed together for the purpose of an effective lookout team they seemed to have blossomed into well adjusted and reasonably loving adults. Naruto saw in them a degree of what he hoped to see when Sakura woke up.

Knowing about Ino's reaction really had him worried since Sakura hadn't always been stronger than Ino emotionally. He worried about what she would be like when she came to. Could the war have changed her? Could dying have allowed her to reassess her hopes and dreams? Naruto knew that she loved him but what would that translate to once they were both awake and out of the hospital? Thinking about this kept him up many nights.

~~~Present Time~~~

The guests were quickly shooed out while both Sakura and Naruto were dealt with. Sakura was given high doses of pain killers combined with muscle relaxants in an attempt to alleviate the pain and keep her from doing damage to herself as she endured her own personal hell. Once the thrashing motions slowed down the nurses had washed her face and removed the tubes so she wouldn't hurt herself on them. Her unusual strength made tying her to the bed a poor choice for both her and the hospital equipment. The best they could do for her was to try to lessen the pain. Though they weren't having much luck.

She lay on the bed facing Naruto with her eyes closed. Tears seeping from the corners and pooling on the sheets. Naruto had been told he either needed to remain calm or he would be thrown out of the hospital, husband or not. They threatened him with being tied to the bed if he insisted on staying but he managed to avoid that by promising to stop yelling and pacing. To the nurses great dismay he had blatantly refused to stop pulling out his hair.

Sakura's pain was confusing the medic nins as she was, for all intensive purposes, completely healthy. Naruto had awakened to full health and mental capacity. In fact the only reason he remained in the hospital was because he threatened extreme measures if he wasn't allowed to stay with Sakura. So what was it about Sakura's condition that was causing all of this pain? Naruto knew the answer and it grated on him. His inability to protect her and his failure at saving her life had unleashed the bastard inside of him. The kyuubi had healed him, of that he was sure. It had apparently also healed Sakura and while Naruto was thankful beyond words that Sakura had been saved, he was terrified that it had been through these channels.

In the past when Sakura had come in contact with the nine tails chakra she had been in pain for longer than was expected or necessary and that was only a small injury. This knowledge added to the scenes of her death was eating him away. As the clock ticked on his ability to tolerate this knowledge was running out.

With the nurses gone for the night Naruto felt free to move around again, knowing that whatever he did, Sakura was in far too much pain to notice. He paced for a while, but it didn't help. He tried to say something to her, but the words wouldn't form in his mouth. He approached her bed, where she lay, shaking with pain, tears still trickling down her face. Naruto hesitantly raised his hand, wanting to reach out and comfort her, but afraid to startle her and afraid to cause her more pain. After a moment of hesitation he let his hand fall on the wrinkled white sheets. Naruto felt the tears coming, making his throat hurt as he tried to keep them at bay. He raised his eyes to the ceiling, thinking futilely that looking away might be able to stop the tears, and a gentle touch made him nearly jump out of his skin. When he looked down, tears halted in confusion, he saw wide green eyes staring at him and her hand working its way into his. Naruto found some small comfort in her hand feeling so alive and warm. She squeezed his hand and to his disbelief she smiled. But the effort came with a price and a new wave of pain wreaked havoc through her body. Without letting go of her hand, Naruto knelt by the side of her bed feeling helpless.

"Sakura" he breathed, barely above a whisper, afraid to cause her more pain by startling her. "What can I do?"

She managed to open her eyes and look at him with kindness before curling into the fetal position and gripping his hand so hard it was in danger of breaking. Worried that his presence was making things worse, he tried to remove himself from her grasp and back away to watch helplessly from the other side of the room. This resulted in the production of the first word Sakura had said since her death.

"No". _No?_ Naruto wondered as a flood of emotion filled him. No meant, don't let go, it meant stay with me, it meant 'I still love you'.

"But…" He had tried to say 'but I'm hurting you', but he didn't get the chance.

"Stay." She managed to say before she needed to gasp for air, sweat drops rolling down the side of her face mingling with the tears that were somehow still forming. Naruto wondered briefly if she was aware she was crying.

"Sak…" He was cut off again; despite the pain talking caused her she seemed determined to make her point.

"…need…you" The pausing and gasping forced Naruto into a flashback of her death. It was more than he could take and with a rough intake of air his own tears began to fall, making a soft pitter-patter where they fell.

"I am… so sorry Sakura-chan." Naruto managed to squeak out, eyes blurry with tears and downcast in embarrassment. His finished sentence and the moment of silence alarmed him and he looked to catch her smiling at him. It would have been a loving smile that would have stopped his heart in it's tracks, had it not been tainted by her agony. She looked at him then, straight in the eyes and opened her mouth to speak. Naruto could see the resolve forming in those beautiful eyes, he could see how much talking would cost her, he thought that this must be very important for her to try so very hard.

"Naruto" she said in between an awkward jaw movement, he imagined that she was fighting the urge to clench her jaw shut against the pain. He only looked at her, waiting.

"I love you" she managed with a smile. She didn't even look away or break the smile as she shuddered, fighting the sensations in her body. Naruto moved without thinking and flung himself to hug her. His wrist bended at a unnatural angle to allow him to not let go of her hand and hug her at the same time.

"More than anything…" he whispered into her hair, "I love you". His free hand was pulling her closer into a tight hug. All his life he had waited to hear those words from Sakura, waited without any hope of it being true. Now, with all that they had been through, he had finally gotten what he wanted and he had some things to say about it.

"All my life" he began to pet her hair, "I have loved you. I would do anything for you." Naruto's voice trailed off as she fidgeted enough so that she could look him in the eyes, when she managed that her face seemed different. Naruto realized the difference immediately; this wasn't a face of someone trying to bite back a scream. It was a face of someone who was tired, certainly, but not someone in agony. Sakura was about to speak, but she raised an eyebrow at the look on his face. Contrary to normal behavior she remained quiet and waited for him to go first. He looked down at her in amazement.

"Are you feeling better?" Naruto took in her condition, she certainly seemed like a different person than she had been seconds before.

"Much" she said with a tired but genuinely pain free smile.

"I'll go get a nurse…" but as he began to pull away, Sakura began to shiver violently again. Naruto looked down in horror to see the recovery completely disappear. After a few more sickening experiments, it became apparent that his proximity lessened her pain. As excited as he was that physical contact was the key to lessening her suffering he realized with horror that it meant that she wasn't getting better. This was only a temporary fix. It certainly couldn't last forever, could it? They would have to do some things separately, wouldn't they? He blushed momentarily at the thought of being 'forced' to shower with her. His blush deepened with the realization that simply holding her hand wasn't enough contact to dull the pain.

They found themselves literally tied to one another. Sakura found relief from her physical pain, while Naruto found an antidote to the insanity that was surely coming his way if Sakura didn't improve. After a few attempts, they learned that if Naruto raised his voice, it didn't cause any pain if he was holding Sakura. So, with his body wrapped protectively over her, and her hands clamped tightly against her ears, Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs for a nurse. If they didn't come, there would be hell to pay. They heard scurrying feet and Naruto looked down to see Sakura grin at him as she removed her hands from her ears.

The nurses burst into the room in a tizzy and immediately tried to move Naruto. Sakura's yells stopped them in their tracks. With Naruto hovering oddly over her, she talked to them peaking out from under his protection. They described the situation and against their better judgment demonstrated it until the difficult nurses believed them. The nurses reluctantly drug Naruto's bed over to Sakura's. Naruto was momentarily forced to perch awkwardly on Sakura's bed while they quickly tied the two frames together. Then he climbed down carefully and they found themselves alone, in one very large bed, waiting for the nurses to come back after consulting with Tsunade.

The sudden turn of events left everyone guessing and Naruto was given the relatively unneeded order to not let go of Sakura. At Tsunade's suggestion, the table of wedding gifts had been pushed over so they could start opening them. However, the closer Sakura was to Naruto, the better she felt, so in order to open the presents without regressing into the thrashing monster she was earlier, she had settled, to Naruto's great embarrassment and delight, in between his legs, with her back resting on his chest. This way, he could also unwrap presents, with his arms wrapped around her so she could see. And although she was comfortable and pain free in his arms, she was also aware that her body wasn't right. She _knew_ the pain was there, waiting for Naruto to let her go.

The process of unwrapping the presents was bizarre to say the least. When they had said their vows, they had had no hope of a life together. Waking up to find that they would get the chance was so overwhelmingly amazing that also receiving presents seemed like overkill. What made the situation even more awkward was that, they had never really been together as a couple in _any_ sense of the term. They had done the entire confession, dating, proposal and marriage in a few minutes time. Now they found themselves bonded for life. And as overjoyed as they both were about it, being a "couple" wasn't part of their normal M.O.

Sakura found herself fidgeting against Naruto for a few reasons. Firstly, they had never physically been this close to one another and it was a little embarrassing. Secondly, she had been the one to confess and to propose. So now she found herself accepted, married, alive and leaning against his body alone in a room with a low risk of interruption at this time of night. Finally, the presents were an odd mix of innocent & proper wedding gifts and lewd, suggestive gifts that made them both blush and made Naruto _very_ aware of what his body could do to embarrass him with Sakura so close.

After opening an unlabeled gift Sakura had nearly died of embarrassment and Naruto had blushed so hard his head felt light. It was craftily unlabeled in a clever scheme to prevent Sakura from beating the daylights out of whoever sent it and she was hell bent on figuring out who it was. Because in her lap, opened by Naruto's very warm hands, was the most horrifying piece of "clothing" Sakura had ever seen. That it was white and mostly see-through was immediately apparent, Naruto's hands had frozen when he saw what he was holding. Sakura had stopped breathing when she took it from him and held it up to the light. Definitely see through. Completely see though. Sakura knew that this served only one purpose, and she gulped at the thought. _Marital relations_ she thought in the most formal manner she could, to attempt to take the edge off of it. She could feel Naruto behind her, not breathing right, frozen in place.

They _were_ married now right? This was a perfectly reasonable gift…_Of course it's not reasonable!_ She argued with herself. Naruto, who hadn't moved a muscle, cleared his throat.

"Um, Sakura-chan…What _IS_ that?" He asked because he wanted to break the silence. Not because he had a difficult time imaging Sakura wearing it…_No, no, no! She'll kill me if I think about that._

The concept of marriage wasn't something that had really sunk in yet. He was still reeling from the knowledge that she loved him _and_ from them both being alive. Imagining her _that _way wasn't something that had occurred to him recently with her in so much pain. This wasn't to say he hadn't thought about her that way in the past.

"It's. Um…It's a… uh" She actually didn't know the proper word for what it was beyond 'embarrassing' but she wasn't about to say that. Resolve was beginning to form. She was feeling better, here in his arms. She blushed slightly at that thought and nestled into him a little, feeling a slight movement that solidified her decision. Well, she _had_ finally confessed to him and for god's sake they had _married!_ There was no reason to be this indecisive if all she wanted was to turn around and give him a kiss, right? Just a little kiss… that was more than acceptable in this situation…wasn't it?

"Hey, Naruto?" the change in the tone of her voice alarmed him.

"What?" he had an eyebrow raised, even though she couldn't see.

"Don't let me go, ok?"

"Huh?...What are you doing?" she had begun to move around, twisting her body.

"I think I need help". She couldn't risk ending up in pain, not now.

"Well… what are you _doing?_"

"I want to talk to you."

"You are talking to me."

"Face to face damn it." There was a pause as he considered this.

"But…where will you put your legs?" If Sakura couldn't see his blush, she should at least be able to feel the heat rolling off of him.

"Shut up and help me." They proceeded by her twisting as far as she could one way, and him the other until he could sort of wrap his arms around her as she sort of got to her knees. Then she slowly started turning, resisting mild pain, as a good portion of her body wasn't against his during this. They stalled for a minute while Naruto again made his point that there was nowhere for her legs to go. They tried side ways a few times and it clearly wasn't going to work.

"I told you." He mumbled as he watched the look on her face.

"Around your waist then." Naruto choked on some spit.

"Sssay what?" This was Sakura right?

"Don't be a baby" she said as she settled in, legs wrapped around his middle.

"This isn't going to work either" she said, a little disappointed. She continued to try to find a good position to sit and talk and Naruto lost his patience.

"Will you just tell me already?" he wasn't angry, it was just hard with her moving around so much and he was nervous, what if what she had to say was something he didn't want to hear?

"Fine." She mumbled quietly, disturbed that she wasn't going to get to lead up to this the way she had planned.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm sorry that I waited so long to tell you how I felt." Naruto smiled and hugged her a little tighter.

"I'm just glad you feel that way, Sakura-chan. That was the best death I could have had."

"That's not morbid or anything" she said in a mildly sarcastic tone, turning to look at him. Naruto saw her face and was confused by it; she had never looked at him that way before.

"And we went though all this trouble so you could tell me that face to face?" he questioned.

"No." she grinned then, deviously and he was momentarily afraid of getting hit.

"We went through that, for this." And without further warning, she twisted more and grabbed his face with her hands. There was a split second hesitation while he realized what she wanted and then they were kissing. It wasn't the sweet, hesitant kiss that they had shared back in the muddy forest. This was all of their fears set aside, all of the things that they hadn't been able to say, laid out before them. This was love turned quickly to hunger and then to need. The electric shock that ran through them was delicious. It made Sakura jerk and gasp a little. For a moment, Naruto was worried she was in pain again, but nothing she did allowed him to keep that thought for very long.

Sakura was now properly on her knees arms wrapped around Naruto's neck and she was leaning into him with force. Naruto, was no longer lounging comfortably. He too was on his knees now, leaning into her too, hands traveling from her neck to her back to her arms without ever losing pressure. He was afraid to let her go and ruin the moment. When she moved from kissing his lips to trailing kisses down his neck he blushed violently and inhaled sharply. She giggled a little bit as she felt further movement that told her that she wasn't too bad at this.

"Sa-ku-ra" he whispered.

"hmmm?" she said as she continued her kisses down his shoulder.

There was no response, so she looked up into deep questioning eye contact. He apparently found an answer in her sparkling eyes and suddenly, his eyes smoldered. He reached out and tugged on her shirt. She threw it off onto the floor in one fluid motion. That was the final barrier for them; there was no turning back. Sakura had Naruto's shirt off in record time; he had heard it rip a little bit on its way over his head. He pushed his body against hers hard enough to knock them both over sideways on the big bed. Sakura kicked her shorts off, with a few too many kicks since they weren't cooperating and Naruto ended up pushed onto his back, clearly she wasn't going to let him call all the shots here.

Sakura pulled as far back as she dared and from about his waistline, drug herself over him slowly, until she was back up at eye level. He crushed her lips with his, opening her mouth and entering her with his tongue. She moaned and pulled back for air. He took advantage, propped himself up on his elbow and used the other arm to wrap around Sakura's small and naked middle. He eyed her matching pale green bra and underwear as he thought about taking them off of her. He rolled her under him, his knee in between her legs to support his weight so he wouldn't hurt her, his body still pressed into hers.

They were breathing hard. The room felt like it was a thousand degrees. Sweat rolled off of them both, though neither noticed. Naruto took a hint from Sakura earlier and trailed kisses down her neck, her hands grasped wildly and tried to undo his pants. She couldn't quiet reach and she had to sit up a little to get to them, but as he realized what she was doing he was overcome with passion and kissed her more intensely than before. It took a while to get those pants off because every time she tried he couldn't resist kissing her more and it dazed her a little.

Almost dizzy from the effort it had taken, Sakura had finally come up triumphant when his pants hit the floor. They both fought for dominance over the other, for the position on top and for whatever they could do that would render the other breathless. Sakura's hands found their way into his boxers as he was getting close to the clasp on her bra. Her insistent and rough touch had him nearly collapse onto her and he accidentally bit her lip. With his need building to the point of almost being unbearable he all but ripped her bra off. It joined the pile of clothes on the floor. His mouth found what had previously been hidden in the pale bra and her reaction caused him physical pain, thought it was well worth it. She had his boxers down to his knees almost instantly after that. He kicked them off as she wiggled out of her own underwear, too hungry to wait for him to remove them himself.

There was no time for talking. They had wasted so much time during their lives that in this moment all there was was their need and through that, their love. There was a moment of eye contact as Naruto's years of learning to be afraid of her kicked in briefly. She narrowed her eyes slightly and pulled his head down to hers with a strong grip and forceful kisses. He took that as a 'hurry up, baka' and positioned himself. She moved, to make it easier for him and with a single and slow thrust, they became one. They both gasped with pleasure.

The heat nearly over whelmed Sakura as she arched her back and rocked her hips into him. Had he not been supporting his weight on the bed itself she would have ended up injured, but as it was, he simply put holes into the sheets with his grip. Sakura grabbed a fist full of his hair and yanked his mouth down to hers as they continued their dance, picking up speed as they went. It didn't take long for their tension to build, for their entire beings to start screaming. In one glorious moment, within seconds of each other, all of that tension was released. They didn't yell, although they could have. But they weren't exactly in a building all alone. So Naruto grunted and clenched his teeth and Sakura took several quick gasps for air while adding her own holes to the sheets.

After a glorious moment of resting the way they were Naruto untangled his lower body from hers and pulled her into a hug. She laid her head on his chest, an arm wrapped around him. In that moment she knew, that were she to pull away there would be no pain. She felt her body was right again. Whatever the nine tails bastard had done to her was undone now and she was pleased at the way that had worked out. She let out a long satisfied sigh as Naruto bent to his her head.

Sakura nestled into him, and said "I'm glad I confessed."

Naruto chuckled and said "So am I."

He ran his hand down her back, the knowledge that she was truly his finally becoming a reality to him. "Thanks for proposing", he said honestly but with humor.

Sakura kissed his rib cage and reached for his hand, she said simply "I love you."

"Love you more." He said. With a devilish glint in her eyes she looked up at him and said "Prove it." And with that, he had pinned her under him with all night to prove himself.

*A note to the readers: This may be the final chapter of this story. I had written it with the intention of a one-shot but clearly that fell through. This will either be the end, or there might be another chapter or two in me, I need to think about it. And finally, thank you for the reviews and adds: It makes me quite happy.


	4. Endings and Beginnings

*WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING*

THIS IS A DRASTIC CHANGE IN TONE, FULL EXPLANATION FOUND AT THE END. IF YOU DON'T WANT HAPPY THEN PLEASE DON'T READ.

Endings & Beginnings

Naruto woke up in a pitch-dark room, the sky just beginning to show signs that it was closer to morning than to night. He felt Sakura safe in his arms and despite his joy surrounding that fact he couldn't help but shiver. The last clear memory he had of this feeling before last night was of Sakura pinning herself to him, her guts spilling out around her fingers despite her attempts to keep them inside. He wasn't happy about the thought that these horrifying memories might taint his experience of holding her forever. When Sakura stirred and he told her about these thoughts she shared similar feelings. The memory of his face when he said he loved her that particular time haunted her. She confessed to being worried that this wasn't real, the only thing Naruto could do was to hold her close because he felt the same way. If it was real though, they decided they had things to do, so they made their plans and searched the room for wearable non-hospital clothing.

It was early dawn when Naruto and Sakura slipped out of the window at the hospital. They bounded through the streets unseen, flexing their sore muscles and enjoying the fresh early morning air. They snuck into Tsunade's personal chambers with smiles on their faces and slightly more convinced that this was reality in truth. They woke her up to give an update on the situation. Tsunade nearly died of shock at seeing them both healthy, standing there in her bedroom at the crack of dawn, grinning like idiots at her reaction. She would have shouted but she was so relieved they were both ok she let it go, this time. They checked a few details against what they believed to be true and laid to rest the worry that this wasn't real.

After Tsunade's shock wore off Sakura sent Naruto to wait on the roof while she explained things. He assumed they were embarrassing things that yesterday would have made him blush. Today, they made him grin like a genuine lunatic. Life couldn't get much more perfect. He now had almost everything he had ever wanted. For the first time he was glad he had the kyuubi sealed in him, even if it was only to heal him this one specific time. All of the suffering he had endured because of the fox was worth it if it meant he got to keep Sakura and since she seemed to be completely fine now, Naruto couldn't be too angry with the bastard for helping them out. Alive again, happily married and to the woman of his dreams, Naruto nearly had to put his head between his knees to calm down as he processed that information.

When the women were finished with whatever embarrassing talk Naruto had been excluded from the couple was sent back to the hospital to wait until Tsunade had arranged for their discharge. It was a case of public interest and it would take a little bit of finagling to get them out without detailed explanations. Could they avoid detailed explanations since when would this situation ever come up again? It's not like they needed to know how to fix this the next time. Tsunade grinned and cracked her knuckles. Today would be a good day. There was a lot to get done!

It wasn't quite noon when the nurses came in and told them they were free. The nurses had found them rummaging through wedding presents and smiling. The couple was assured their things would be taken care of, if they could just 'come this way now please'. There was an odd buzz in the air and the closer they got to the exit of the building the faster their hearts raced. They would have run down the halls to get out, but Sakura was a little apprehensive of what was up ahead, something was going on that much was clear. As they reached the main doors of the hospital, just as she was about to push open the doors and reach their freedom, Naruto scooped her up in his arms and carried her out. It wasn't quite carrying the bride home, but the effect was the same. Sakura was beaming as the sunlight hit her face.

Outside it seemed like the whole town had gathered to see them released. People were watching with anticipation and it made them a little self conscious. Sakura blushed as a corridor appeared in the crowd. It was made for them to walk through and the ground was being covered in leaves, Naruto noticed two little kids running around flinging them on the ground. He chuckled as he leaned down to kiss Sakura. The crowd erupted in hoots and cheers. Everyone was overjoyed that they had lived; they were heroes in their own rights and beloved by the town. After all of the pain, horror and death, anything to celebrate was welcomed and this was a particularly sweet moment. The story of their final moments was well known and this was the ending everyone had dared to hope for, even when the future seemed grim in comparison.

Naruto was shocked that this had been arranged so quickly and he looked down to see Sakura just as surprised. This must have been all Tsunade's doing. He would have to thank her later. Naruto began to walk slowly through the crowd, not wanting this moment to pass too quickly. He had gone from an unwanted outcast to someone everyone loved. That in itself was more than he had expected out of life, but having Sakura in his arms and knowing that she was his forever, was almost enough to make him cry. Losing Jiraiya, Sasuke and even Kakashi, although the latter wasn't permanently, was enough to break any man. Losing Sakura, and then getting her back only to watch her suffer had ripped his heart out and he_ had _wept then. He had lied helpless in bed at night watching pain wreak havoc through her body while he finally got the chance to cry.

He would mourn the losses from the war; he would stand at Sasuke's grave holding Sakura's hand one day and remember everything. But now with the future ahead of him and Sakura safe in his arms, it was time to move on. He would watch Shikamaru fulfill his promise to Asuma and raise the baby. He would work side by side with his friends to rebuild Konoha's defenses and he would do his best to help heal the wounds they all shared. He would finally be a part of a life with Sakura as more than just a team. As he stepped out further into the sun he realized that today was for the future and it seemed to be exactly the future he had always dreamed of. No war, complete acceptance by the town and Sakura. He smiled as he took the next step.

Suddenly out of the crowd stepped Sai holding something behind his back. It shook Naruto out of his thoughts and brought him crashing back to the present, with Sakura safe in his arms and the entire town cheering for them. Sai knelt before them, like some stupid gesture he had found in one of his books and lay what looked like a wrapped katana on the ground in front of them. He looked up expectantly.

"What's this?" Sakura said, still comfortable in Naruto's arms, happy to show everyone this was where she wanted to be.

"A wedding present". Naruto looked confused, neither he nor Sakura used katana, although the gesture was nice coming from Sai. He was about to say so when Sai continued.

"It's the blade of the man who did this to you" he continued, seeing their confusion. "I would have brought his head for you, but I was forbidden to do so". He grinned then. There was a pause as they considered this information.

"But how…he was so strong…" Naruto trailed off as laughter drifted from different parts of the crowd.

"I never said I killed him by myself" Sai said, as if this were obvious.

"Then who…?" Sakura questioned

"Just about the whole town helped in some way. Intel, supplies, and then the fight itself."

"Whoa". They uttered as they looked around for signs of who helped, but the entire crowd was smiling.

"Our wedding gift to you is freedom from worrying about pursuing him and maybe satisfaction that you were avenged…" he trailed off, looking up in a questioning way, he still wasn't sure of himself with personal interactions. Sakura struggled a little bit and Naruto let her down. She knelt down next to Sai and hugged him. Sai's eyes widened.

"Thank you." she said loud enough for all to hear. Sai was clearly uncomfortable so when Naruto walked over and slapped him on the back and said thanks, he pulled Sakura off as he backed away, giving Sai his personal space back. So the true fighters wanted to stay anonymous for now, Sakura wondered why. Perhaps no one wanted to be singled out because everyone had worked so hard together. Sai disappeared and they continued down the aisle.

Naruto and Sakura had barely taken another step when Hinata stepped forward. Naruto froze, he respected Hinata deeply but he was worried that she might still have feelings for him. She smiled shyly and reached into her deep pockets. She produced a small box and cleared her throat.

"This isn't just from me either…"she was unsure of how to continue. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably as she struggled for words. She let out a squeak of alarm as Kiba threw his arms around her from behind. She gained confidence from his presence and Naruto smiled, happy that they appeared to be a couple. The evidence from all of their visitations pointed to that, but he had wondered and honestly, his thoughts had been elsewhere. His attention was pulled back to Hinata and her little box as she held it out towards Sakura, smiling again.

"What's this?" Sakura said, stepping forward to take it.

"It's from all of us. Neji and Tenten, Ino and Shikamaru, Choji, Lee and Konohamaru too." As she had said their names, they had all waved or grinned, making their presence in the crowd stick out for the first time, clearly they were ok with being singled out now. In a cloud of awe and mild concern Sakura opened the box and let out a gasp. Inside were wedding bands. She backed up to show Naruto, who looked down with great interest at what else all of his friends had done for them.

Inside the box were two rings, made up of leaves of different colored metals. The ring for Sakura had diamonds scattered around in the leaves and Naruto's was a little thicker, like it was designed to take more damage. They were very beautiful and the couple gasped in near unison. Sakura considered running and hugging each one of them, hugging Naruto or even doing something really mushy and putting it on his finger in some sort of ceremonious way but Naruto beat her to it. He simply smiled and said "Thank you" in a voice loud enough for all to hear. He took Sakura's ring and held it up to her.

This was it; this was the ceremony they never had, the ceremony they didn't think they would ever get. Sakura saw Tsunade grinning in her direction, she was elbowing Kakashi in the ribs. Kakashi was also smiling, but he looked like he might swat Tsunade away if she kept it up. Shizune looked like she might faint, but Sakura didn't have time to feel bad for her. So this is what they had had to wait for, Tsunade was herding everyone towards the hospital. Sakura's shocked expression melted away and was replaced by one of gratitude and love.

Naruto simply stared at her smiling and waiting, she held her hand up and let him slide the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly though she imaged it wouldn't have been hard to measure her for this while she was unconscious. That meant that her friends had never given up hope and it made the moment even sweeter. She then did the same thing for Naruto who was putting the sun to shame with his beaming smile. The second the ring was on, Naruto whirled Sakura around like he had always dreamed of doing and the crowd erupted again, this time in congratulations. Hinata and Kiba smiled at them and backed back into the crowd. Kakashi then materialized in front of them, as fast as always, with a piece of paper showing that their marriage was legally recognized. Sakura hugged him then too and thanked him, not that anyone could hear it over the cheering.

Kakashi disappeared as quickly as he had shown up only to be replaced by Tsunade. Who gestured for the crowd to quiet. This had been planned for a long time now, but this was the formal announcement, rushed to coincide with their release to make it all the more special.

"Naruto." She said, sparing a sideways grin for her confused subordinate.

"It seems all of your dreams have been realized". He smiled then, and took Sakura's hand.

"That's not the only dream I was talking about." Naruto was genuinely confused but Sakura inhaled sharply. She had figured this one out awfully fast.

"I have decided to retire Naruto." She said waiting for the realization to hit, but she grew impatient with his confusion. His eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open but he made no move that suggested he was going to speak first.

"The Jounin council have appointed you the new Hokage!" His eyes were wide, mouth hanging open still, and a little drool had meandered down his cheek.

"But…but… what about you Ba-chan?" the crowd waited anxiously for his response and he was being agonizingly slow. Ever since the Pain incident many had wanted this to happen, it had even been suggested that he should be appointed as Hokage while Tsunade lay comatose instead of Danzo. Tsunade laughed and slapped him a little too hard on the shoulder.

"There is sake to drink, gambling to be done and people to catch up with." She smiled sadly then and Naruto knew she was thinking of his teacher and what she had missed out on.

"The position is yours, if you will take it." She said loud enough for everyone to hear and he knew he had to decide now. He took one look at Sakura, who was grinning at him and he jumped up into the air and shouted "Dattebayo!" there was a sound of approval from Lee and Gai, who were making thumbs up at the youthful display of energy. Tsunade had no worries that he would have more than enough stamina to handle the job. She hugged him and offered her congratulations; her eyes glimmered with tears that would never be allowed to fall. Naruto wondered if they were happy or sad tears and imagined that they were likely both.

Sakura looked towards him slowly with happy tears of her own in her eyes. When she made eye contact with Naruto she ran the few steps to him, he caught her, scooped her up and started to run.

"Where are you going gaki!" Tsunade shouted at him.

"To my office Ba-chan!" He heard the crowd laughing but he was already gone, faster than the wind.

It seemed all of their friends had survived the war. There were certainly faces in the crowd that seemed to show sorrow, to show loss, but everyone was smiling today. The couple knew lots of people had died, they had seen them die, but it seemed that those most important to them were alive and well. But most importantly, they were alive again. And they now had their whole lives ahead of them to live, to love and to make peace in the world. They had already made their mark on the world, but they would go down in history as great ninja with an even greater love story. Today was the start of the reign of Uzumaki Naruto, one of the greatest Kage to ever live. It was also the start of his beloved family, but he didn't know that yet.

*I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. This story came to me in a daydream as a one shot, just the first chapter. Darker stories are not my normal style so I decided to try. It turns out that this was much easier to write for me than I expected it would be. But, I refuse to end on a dark note, I love these characters and I can't voluntarily end things any other way but happily. They do not _deserve_ more pain and I refuse to do anything permanent to them that would be cruel. I really fussed over this chapter and I can't thank Japboix1 enough for reading and re-reading this one. I know it might be too drastic of a change in tone from the first chapter but after several attempts at re-writing and tweaking it, this is how I envision the end. I hope that you can understand that.


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